I googled Indonesian food in Kochi, and half an hour later I was sitting in front of a plate of nasi goreng. A very promising-looking nasi goreng, courtesy of the Swiggy app I’d downloaded the day we checked into our Kochi apartment.
I stared at it for a bit, then carried it out to the balcony to have dinner by myself on my last night in India. The apartment felt empty. This time yesterday, it was full of my in-laws’ comforting chatter. They went back to Alleppey in the morning; we fly out the next morning, and a heavily medicated Fafa is asleep in the bedroom.
So it’s just me, awake in India, keeping company with Indonesia’s much-loved national dish. I told myself it was a reprieve after a week of Indian food. I even tried to convince myself it was research for my Indonesian food around the world series. But if I’m being completely honest, it was comfort food. Nasi goreng, especially the spicy kind, is what I reach for when everything feels a little too unfamiliar. An anchor to my Indonesian-ness, whatever that means.
It looked like nasi goreng, just a lot darker (too heavy on soy sauce, chef?). It came with a sunny-side-up egg and prawn crackers, as all respectable nasi goreng should. Two for two. It also came with heavily seasoned chicken wings and a prawn skewer, which we don’t usually do back home. But that’s okay. Kochi is a coastal city, and I like prawns. Fafa can have the chicken wings when he wakes up.
Moment of truth. I took a bite, and it tasted like, well, Indonesian nasi goreng. Then the sambal on the side. Good. Really good. Then the grilled prawn, seasoned with what I’m fairly sure was sambal matah. Wow. I was impressed.
The chicken wings, though, were not Indonesian. Back home we’d go for fried chicken, and from memory there’d be lemongrass involved. These I wouldn’t count.
I went to wake Fafa so he could try it, but he was fast asleep. So I polished off almost everything, leaving him a few bites and one whole chicken wing.
Indo Food Atlas
Indonesian Food Around the World series: A Cheat Sheet for Indonesian Food in London / Rijsttafel-ing Indonesian Food in Amsterdam / Indonesia Food in Zurich My Most Expensive Meal in Switzerland / Authentic Indonesian Food in Seoul at Bakso Bejo Korea / It’s Java Authentic Indonesian Street Food in Auckland / Makan A Celebration of Indonesian Cuisine in Melbourne / Rasa Rosa A So So Indonesian Food in Canberra / Indonesian Restaurants in Cairns / Indonesian Food in Darwin Leaves Something to Be Desired / I Tracked Down Indonesian Food in Reykjavík Iceland / Ravintola Bali Best Indonesian Meal in Scandi Region / Cabe A Culinary Delights of Indonesian Cuisine in Tokyo / Traiteur Le Surabaya Noumea Indonesian Restaurant in South Pacific.
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